


Message

by gobylikesgogy, Thegayisstrongwiththisone



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alive Marco Bott, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Eventual Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith, Father Figure Erwin Smith, Father Figure Levi Akerman, Multi, Sweet Petra Ral, You Know About Future Events, You have anxiety, non-binary Hange
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29813100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gobylikesgogy/pseuds/gobylikesgogy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thegayisstrongwiththisone/pseuds/Thegayisstrongwiththisone
Summary: After waking up in Attack On Titan, you decide to stay alive you must get on the Survey Corps side. After a long trial, and a lot of explaining about your world and the lack of titans in it you get exchanged to the Survey Corps to help them restore humanity. But, it is harder to lose people in real life than just watching them die on a screen.! MAJOR ANIME SPOILERS !Follow canon besides you obviously helping the Survey Corps, and you being able to save Marco. Depending on where the story goes, you may end up romantically with someone.
Relationships: Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith, Oluo Bozado & Petra Ral
Comments: 14
Kudos: 29





	1. Testimonies

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my best friend @thegayisstrongwiththisone for writing this with me. I hope all of you enjoy our work.

“I-I’m not crazy…” you spoke as your whole body shook rapidly, your wrists pained by the pull of the chains they were bound by. “I SWEAR ON EVERY BONE, MUSCLE, AND NERVE IN MY BODY I’M NOT CRAZY!”   
  


You lifted your head to look at the men and women in front of you, tears spilled from your eyes and onto the floor.  
  


The man in front of you gave you a solemn look, his eyes looked down. _Erwin._ He could help you, if only you could talk to him.  
  


“I’m not—I’M NOT FROM INSIDE THESE WALLS!” you yelled. Erwin looked up at you sharply, eyes filled with intrigue, as you had expected. You needed to get through to him. His eyes still had a slight sparkle but continued to look at you sternly, not breaking his serious character.  
  


“You’re from outside the walls?” an older man spoke who you did not know the name of.  
  


“W-well—no! But—yes!” you exhaled deeply, chest heaving “I’m not from this world!”  
  


_Good job Y/N you don’t even know what you’re saying anymore.  
  
_

Murmurs came from the small number of people around you.  
  


“Not from this world?” Pixis spoke up. You looked down at the ground stained by your tears.  
  


“Yes,” you spoke, glancing back up. Levi glared at you through narrowed eyes.  
  


“What do you mean?” Hange asked, making you chuckle at your stupidity. _Was this even a good idea? Should you even be saying this?  
  
_

“I live in a world of peace! Where most families sit on their asses all day, the only worry they have is what they can do to cure their boredom next! Where the only real danger is _humans_ who put others in danger—where you all are nothing more than characters in a story that teenagers get emotionally attached to before they watch you get killed off by the creator!”  
  


_Silence…  
  
_

_Was that too much?_

* * *

_You could see your breath as you exhaled, staring at your boots as they hit the solid ground. It was one of those cold days, where it was too hot to wear a winter coat but as you wore your oversized hoodie the cold still bit at your skin._

_Just a bit longer and the bus would pick you up and you would be perfectly warm again._

_Your feet stopped at the stop sign at the end of the sidewalk, your bus stop._

_You pulled up the scarf that rested on your neck to protect your nose from the cold air._

_Your eyes looked down at the cracks in the pavement, trying to distract yourself from the cold now nipping at your exposed fingers._

**_Vrrrrrrrroomm_ **

_You looked up to see the bus pulling up to your stop._

_Without thinking, you stepped onto the bus like you did every day._

* * *

“Characters…” Erwin repeated.  
  


“Y-yes!” you swallowed, your eyes pleading with Erwin to believe you. He was your best bet. “Characters in a book!”  
  


You could see their faces, and you knew they thought you were crazy. You saw Levi raise his eyebrows in his seat next to Erwin. Hange, who was seated next to Levi, looked almost…excited.  
  


“It—it follows a boy!” you spoke, “Named Eren… Eren Yeager!” Your head whipped around the room, and when no one else speaks up you continued. “He’s real! He’s in the 104th Training Corps!”  
  


_Still silence…  
  
_

You sighed, “You guys don’t believe me…” You hung your head.  
  


“This is perfect!” Hange said, jumping up from their chair, their lips soon forming into a big smile. “Am I in this story?!”  
  


“Sit down Hange.” Levi spoke, glaring at them.   
  


Hange didn’t acknowledge him, “This is insane! You must know all about the titans!”  
  


_Good. Good. This is great! As long as Hange believed you, you would be safe.  
  
_

“I—I do! I know all about the titans! We know a lot about the titans!”  
  


Hange squealed, jumping up and down.  
  


“ _Hange. Sit down_.” Levi repeated.  
  


“How could I sit down, Levi, when someone who has endless knowledge of titans is sitting right in front of us!” Hange exclaimed, pointing to you excitedly.  
  


“Sit down you idiot, they could be lying.”  
  


“I-I’m not!” you yelled out desperately.  
  


Levi’s eyebrows are still raised, his harsh stare meeting your eyes. You instantly blushed, looking away from him.  
  


_God, he really **is** scary.  
  
_

“I-I can prove it!” You looked up at the Survey Corps desperately.  
  


“How would you prove it?” Levi questioned, crossing his legs.  
  


You opened your mouth before closing it again.  
  


_Jesus Christ how are you supposed to talk when just having eye contact with Levi made you want to die.  
  
_

You pushed back all your anxiety before looking back up, showing your strength. “I know about you all… Very personal things—especially you Captain Levi, and Commander Erwin! Since you both are really important characters! I’m sure only a couple of people will know!”  
  


Levi glanced at Erwin, then back to you. It took all your strength to not break eye contact with him, wanting him to know that you were completely serious.  
  


“What can you prove to us then? Tell me.” Levi demanded.  
  


You swallowed.  
  


_You knew what you could say, but should you? Would he care? His past was pretty harsh.  
  
_

You licked your lips, trying to calm the redness on your face.  
  


“I know—I know that you lived in a whore house most of your childhood.” Levi’s face did not falter as you spoke, “I know that you suffered from malnourishment before a man named Kenny found you in the same room as your dead mother and took you in for a short while! I know that he left you when you could fend for yourself again!”  
  


You broke eye contact with him after seeing the fire growing in his eyes.  
  


_Maybe it would have been better if you just told Erwin you knew about his father’s theory.  
  
_

You hesitantly looked back in the direction of the Survey Corps, where Erwin looked at Levi waiting for him to speak.  
  


Levi looked over at Erwin, meeting his eyes. They seemed to come to a mutual understanding before Erwin cleared his throat.  
  


“We’ll take them.” Erwin spoke.  
  


Complete relief filled your body and you let out a exhale you didn’t know you were holding.

“Hold it, Erwin,” Nile interjected, “You don’t get to just say that, the Military Police would benefit from their knowledge as well. Their information is better off in our hands than in the hands of a regiment that throws away lives on pointless missions.”  
  


“Better off in a corrupt regiment that does nothing?” Erwin spoke “Although I’d rather not argue, it’s best for them to help out the scouts.”  
  


“If you two are done bickering like children,” Pixis said loudly, “It would be beneficial to gather more information. It would do well for both of you to remember you don’t make these decisions. You can’t just decide things on a whim like that. It has to be thought out.” Pixis spoke up, his words were a bit harsh but his voice calm.  
  


Erwin recovered first.  
  


“We both know that bringing this up with the government will just bring more problems,” Erwin spoke. “The Garrison doesn’t have much of a use for such resources if I’ve assumed correctly. That is if the information actually exists at all.”  
  


Your face fell, you didn’t know why but you really wanted people to believe you, especially Erwin. Even if that was completely irrational.

  
“An interrogation is the logical direction to go here. From the information we gather, we can decide which regiment they should go to,” Pixis gave a stern look to both sides, “without the dick measuring contest.” Pixis sighed, “God, I need a drink.”  
  


“Wait, Pixis, how can we be sure you won’t twist the results of the investigation? You can’t possibly try to say you don’t have a side you would prefer to win.”  
  


“Ok then, Nile,” Pixis’ eyes were shut tightly, “What do you want me to do?”

  
“I was just going to say we should send in someone from each side with you, that’s all.”  
  


“Fine, Nile, you can go (since you’re the only military police member we know the name of that isn’t 16), and Erwin, you can choose someone from the Scouts to go.”  
  


“Oh, me!” Hange yelled out.  
  


“No.” Levi deadpanned.  
  


“Hange will go,” Erwin said. Levi shot Erwin an affronted look and moved to stand closer to Hange.  
  


_Oh god interrogation, this will not be fun._

* * *

You sat in a dungeon, after being guided back to await the interrogation, rubbing at your wrists to expel the soreness from them.

You looked up when you heard your cell door opening. Pixis walked in, followed by Hange, who was skipping in excitedly, and Nile, who looked considerably less excited. He kept shooting disturbed looks at Hange and stayed near the door with his arms crossed. He mumbled something that was a little hard to make out, but when you strained your ears, you could understand it.

_“I will never understand how Erwin is friends with these people.”_

_Pixus. And Nile and Hange. At least it’s not Zackary._

He pulled the chair back before sitting down in it. “Will you answer my questions truthfully?” he asked.

“If I know there will be no repercussions, yes.” You spoke, making him raise his eyebrows. 

Pixus was definitely less scary than Levi, you could talk to him without your anxiety instantly going on high alert.

“Repercussions?” he questioned.

“Well yeah, I mean… There is a lot of knowledge I know that if you knew it would get… pretty bad. So I hope you can respect that.”

“I can respect when someone wants to make sure humanity is safe” he speaks.

“Thank you, Commander.” You speak, looking down at your hands that sat safely in your lap. 

“Now…” Pixus speaks, “I’d like you to explain more about this book…”

You bite your lower lip with concentration, “Well, Attack On Titan was originally a manga—a Japanese comic book, called Shingeki no Kyojin. Attack on Titan is the translation.”

“Comic book?” Pixus asked.

“Oh yeah—sorry. A comic book… Hmm…” you looked up, trying to figure out how to explain it. “A comic book is a book that rather than telling a story with exclusively words tells a story through drawings and dialog from characters.”

“Alright then, continue.” Pixus waved you on.

“Okay… Well Attack On Titan is a Comic Book that follows the story of Eren Yeager, a boy who just… Really wants to become a Scout after he watches his mom get eaten by a titan in the fall of Shinganshina.”

“And previousy you said he was in the 104th training corps, correct?”

You nodded rapidly at him, “Yes! Uhh… The story mostly follows them, and after they’re done with their training it follows most of the important characters joining the scouts-“

Hange gave a thumbs up from behind Pixis, nodding their head enthusiastically, while Nile glared at them from the back of the room.

“-and going on missions outside the wall.”

“I see… And I remember you saying that Commander Erwin and Captain Levi are important characters.”

“Y-yeah!” there really important since Eren joins Levi’s squad for a bit. Levi is one of the most well know characters in the story, actually.”

“Oooh oooh! Ask them about the titans!” Hange yelled, flapping their hands up and down excitedly. Nile shushed them, a futile effort that went ignored by the offending party.

You laughed a bit at Hange’s excitement, and Nile’s many failed attempts to get them to stop, letting out some tension from your chest. 

“Hange, how did you get chosen instead of Levi again?” Pixis turned, startled when he found Hange leaning way too far over his shoulder.

You covered your mouth, giggling. _They were incredibly interested; it was kind of refreshing to you to have someone less serious._

Hange pursed their lips, then rolled their eyes. “He gets to ‘talk’ to Erwin alone, so he didn’t fight too hard.” When you glanced over at Nile, he looked confused and was looking at Hange weirdly.

“In fact, his previous protest was just an effort to contradict me. Anyway,” Hange met your eyes, “So, tell me—how do the titans mate? Do they even mate?! Are they intelligent?! Do they communicate with each other?!”

You blush at the direct eye contact.

_How could you answer any of their questions without revealing the existence of Marley and the rest of humanity? Was that something you could reveal so early on?_

“Well, no, they don’t mate. Yes, they are sometimes intelligent, and yes, but only in very unique situations, and I wouldn’t call it communication.”

“Care to elaborate?” Pixis asked.

“Uh- sorry, I don’t think I can right now,” you said apologetically, starting to feel overheated as you knew you couldn’t reach their expectations.

Hange made a disappointed noise and slumped over where they were leaning with their elbows on the table. However, they were only like that for a second, as, suddenly, they perked up, eyes shining.

“Would you be willing to confirm or deny my theories? If we had a way to certify our knowledge, Erwin could make more efficient strategies and formations that could greatly reduce casualties! Oh, you’ve got to do it!” Hange exclaimed, looking at you expectantly.

“Um… yeah, I think that’d be ok,” you said timidly.

Hange clapped their hands together and started practically vibrating where they were standing.

“That is something that you can make use of later, Hange,” Pixis said, cutting off the conversation before it could progress. He turned his attention back to you. “When you say you know a lot of information, does that include things about the government most wouldn’t be privy to?”

_Oh no. Was this something you should answer truthfully? You knew how that ended for Erwin’s dad and you did not want to fall prey to the same fate. However, Pixis and Nile helped with the coup d’état, so maybe…?_

“I know some things,” you said nervously. You looked around quickly and added “Nothing incriminating of course!”

Hange looked disappointed at this, but you saw a flicker in their eye that told you your cover-up was not very successful.

Pixis nodded slowly. “You said it followed the Survey Corp, correct? Is it only the Survey Corp it follows?”

“Yes, for the most part.”

“The way you phrase your answers leads me to believe that titans never existed in the world you claim you’re from, is this accurate?” Pixis asked.

“Yes.”

“And from your earlier testimony, you claim that events that will happen in the future will prove your truthfulness?”

“Yes, sir”

“Very well.” Pixis got up from his chair. He turned towards the two other officers in the room, where Hange was staring smugly at Nile while he grumbled under his breath. “They will be placed under the custody of the Survey Corps until further notice. When their information has been proven either true or false, we will reevaluate.” He nodded towards Nile. “Nile, keep quiet about this, and Hange, go inform Commander Erwin of my decision. Dismissed.”

Hange bounced towards the door, “Let’s hope Levi and Erwin are done, I don’t want a repeat of last time!” Hange turned towards you conversationally when they reached the door, “Levi almost castrated me.” They winked and walked out the door already shouting for Levi and Erwin.

Hange’s friendly attitude left you with a warm feeling. At least there was someone who was on your side. You waved at Nile and Pixis as they left and moved to lie down on your cot and await your transfer to the Survey Corps.


	2. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y/n finally arrived at the Survey Corps headquarters. But they’re very far from home and in a world not unlike hell so that sucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, it’s me, bean (thegayisstrongwiththisone)! All the chapters we post are worked on by both of us, but this one was mostly written by goby with me editing lmao. give credit where credits due. aside from the carriage scene, goby is the one to thank for this chapter. We hope you enjoy it!

Your eyes stayed on the brick lining of the wall, mind racing with countless thoughts and emotions you couldn’t keep track of.

_Fuck, my back hurts so much._

_I though I was supposed to stop growing by now, why the hell do I still feel like I have growing pains in my calves?_

_I can’t believe I embarrassed myself in front of so many adults._

_The Survey Corps… I’m going with the Survey Corps!_

_Honestly, why is Porco so hot?_

_Speaking of Porco, how the hell am I supposed to tell them about Marley? Should I even tell them?_

Maybe you should have been excited about the world you were in. But you were too utterly terrified to even think that way. You almost died just getting here.

The door of your cell creaked open, making you quickly sit up, pulled from your thoughts. Something that you instantly regretted, your sore body screaming at you to slow down.

You rubbed your eyes with the back of your hand, squinting your eye to see Erwin standing in the doorway. You could only slightly see Levi standing behind him.

“Are you ready to head out?” he asked.

You stood up, stretching out your back. He was much taller than you, which made you a bit nervous, but you nodded never the less.

“Come on then, let’s go before Petra has an aneurysm.” Levi spoke, jerking his head to gesture you out.

The two men led you out of the dungeons.

You followed closely behind them, not wanting to be yelled at for going to slow. While you walked, you didn’t really pay attention to where you were going. Instead you were looking around the court room with the paintings on the walls and the admirable architecture.

Erwin and Levi finally led you out. The sun was bright, brighter then you were used to after being in the gloomy lighting of the dungeon for so long. You brought your forearm up to block the sun from your eyes.

If you had to guess, you were in the interior of Wall Sina. People walked down the streets, the women in puffy dresses and the men in suit vests.

You took it all in, the tall buildings, the horse drawn carriages… It was like you were in the old west.

“Come on,” Levi spoke, opening the door to the carriage. You got in first, followed by Erwin and Levi, who sat across from you. Levi crossed his legs and folded his arms.

To avoid looking at the two older men you looked down, fidgeting with your hands.

“You won’t be—“ Levi started.

You startled violently when someone banged loudly on the carriage door. You looked up to see Hange’s face pressed against the carriage window.

You covered your mouth with surprise, eyes widening.

Erwin snorted, and opened the door to let them in.

“You guys almost left without me, holy fuck!” Hange exclaimed, clambering in next to you. You quickly scooch over in the seat to make more room.

“Yeah, that was the point. And we would have gotten away with it if the writers didn’t remember several scenes later that they forgot you.” Levi sighed, crossing his arms.

“You don’t mean that. Truly, deep inside, you know you love me,” Hange said, leaning forward into Levi’s space. Levi pressed his back as far as it could go against the seat and scooted closer to Erwin. Levi turned back to you and resumed making his point.

“You’ll be utterly useless if you’re scared shitless by two guys in a carriage. You’re not going to survive if you’re too fucking scared to maintain eye contact.” He slumped back and looked out the window. “You wouldn’t even be interesting to kill,” he grumbled under his breath, causing Erwin to elbow him sharply in the ribs, a difficult feat when the person is short enough that their head is in the usual strike zone. Hange snorted out a laugh but was silenced by multiple threats to their wellbeing.

_That was a joke, right? You weren’t really sure, but either way, was that supposed to make you feel more talkative?_

_Who would have fucking thought that a kid with anxiety being thrown into an anime world with a bunch of anime character would have made me a bit nervous?_

You huffed to yourself, but knowing better, you pushed it back and forced a smile.

“You’re right, sorry.”

Levi rolled his eyes at you, “I’m obviously trying to get something out from you. It’s no fun when you just apologize. And don’t make empty promises.”

“Uh, sorry?”

Levi ignored you, too busy rubbing his bruised ribs angrily and glaring at Erwin who was meeting his gaze head on. Levi conceded first, turning to look back at you. He opened his mouth to speak.

“Enough, Levi. At least wait until we reach headquarters.” Erwin commanded.

Hange leaned over to you, whispering into your ear something you hoped Levi didn’t hear.

 _“Don’t worry about him, he’s always grumpy.”_ They leaned back, scrunching their nose at you.

The carriage lapsed into silence for the rest of the ride.

* * *

You looked out at the headquarters in front of you. You recognized it as the castle which Eren stayed in with the Levi Squad, the one from the scene starring Levi’s OCD.

“Is the Levi Squad here?” you asked, looking to Levi. He gave you a weird look, and the you realized that was a weird thing to ask, as you don’t know any of them.

“It’s uh… part of the story… you know…” you chuckled nervously and looked away at a suddenly very interesting patch of grass. Levi’s look didn’t change.

Erwin put his hand on Levi’s shoulder.

“Yes, they’re here,” he answered for him.

“Levi?! Erwin?! Is that you?!” a short, red haired woman stood in the doorway of the castle, blocking the sun from her eyes.

“Yes! Yes, obviously!” Levi spoke loudly, causing you to glare at him, seeing as he ignored your existence.

“Someone’s angry~” Hange singsonged, “Didn’t manage to get any, huh?” 

“Hange, I will rip your intestines out through your ass if you don’t-“

“Anyways,” Erwin interjected

“Hange! You’re here too!” Petra turned around in the doorway, “Guys! We have company!” She yelled.

You and the group began to walk towards the castle, Hange leading them happily, Levi trailing behind unhappily.

“We’ve only been gone for a day; you knew we would come back. I talked to you about this.” Levi deadpanned.

“Well, you still left a bit abruptly Captain." Petra said, putting her hands on her hips.

Petra smiled when Hange wrapped her in a hug.

“Hello!” she giggled, hugging them back.

“I missed you!” Hange smiled, releasing her from their embrace.

“I missed you too,” Petra answers.

Levi sighed at the inconsequential conversation and walked past them into the castle.

Petra was about to greet Erwin when she saw you standing awkwardly beside him.

Her eyes lit up when they met yours and she gave you a big smile.

“Oh hello there!” She turned around quickly to yell at Levi. “Levi! Why didn’t you introduce me to the new recruit before coming in?”

Levi yelled back, “Not a recruit. And the brat can introduce themselves.”

Petra sighed and rolled her eyes at him.

“Oh, don’t worry about him, I’m pretty sure he was born this way,” she gave you a smug look. “But I’m Petra, It’s nice to meet you,” she waved happily at you.

You chuckled, “Yeah… that seems like that’s what a lot of people think about Levi.” You gave her your best smile.

Erwin watched your conversation, keeping quiet.

“So, is there any reason you’re here?” Petra asked, cocking her head to the side. “I’m sorry, you’re just very young.”

“I—uh…Well—”

You were quickly cut off by Erwin, “They have information that could be useful for us.”

He went inside, probably following Levi, without another word.

“I see.” Petra’s smile didn’t falter. “So, what’s your name?” she asked.

“Y/n.”

Petra closed the door to the castle, after the rest of the group had made it into the castle.

“Boys! Get of your asses and come down here!” Petra yelled up the stairs.

You could hear loud groans from the upstairs.

“Do we have to?” A voice whined.

“Yes Oluo! I need you need to meet someone.”

“Why do you act like my mom?!” Oluo came into view at the top of the stairs.

“One second!” someone else yelled from upstairs. You guessed that was one of the other members of the Levi Squad.

Oluo let out a groan as he slumped down the stairs.

Petra rolled her eyes, “How am I supposed to not mother you when you act like a big baby!”

“We’re here! We’re here! Please don’t kill us!” Eld yelled sarcastically, rushing down the stairs, waving his arms frantically. Gunther walked at a more leisurely pace behind him, chuckling to himself.

“Come fast! I want you all to meet someone.”

Once all the boys were together downstairs, Petra moved her body that was previously shielding you so they could see you.

“A CHILD!”  
“Oh hey there.”  
“I didn’t even see you behind Petra.”

“Everyone, this is Y/n,” Petra spoke, standing behind you like she was showing you off, “Erwin said they’re here cause they have some information that will be useful.”

“What information?” Oluo leaned closer to you giving you a skeptical look, you could practically smell his breath.

“Well—I… Uh—Don’t think I can say that…” you said quickly, waving your hands in front of you.

“Stop it Oluo!” Petra spoke, putting her hands on his chest and moving him away from you. “You’re embarrassing yourself, and you don’t sound like Levi!”

Oluo grumbled to himself about something that you couldn’t really hear but your thoughts were diverted when Eld patted your back.

He was so much bigger than you that you stumbled slightly.

“Hey kiddo, I’m Eld! It’s nice to meet you.”

You smiled shyly at him, “It’s nice to meet you too,”

“And I’m Gunther!” Gunther spoke, waving at you. “The one Petra is currently fighting with is Oluo.”

You giggled, “Yeah, I kind of got that.”

“Hey, guys, Erwin wants a meeting with you all! Come on!”

_Ew, a meeting… All you really wanted to do was pass out on that couch and sleep for hours._

“Alright then,” Petra spoke, putting her hand on your back, “Lets go then, Y/n!” she smiled at you.

“Oh, not Y/n. Erwin said they should stay down here,” Hange interjected.

“Oh…” Petra frowned slightly, then turned back to you. “Well, there’s some books around here you can read and I’m sure you’re free to go outside as long as we can easily find you. Don’t get into any trouble though!”

“Come on, they’re waiting!” Hange said, before running off.

The squad waved goodbye before disappearing further into the castle.

You looked around the room you stood in and soon started wandering around it curiously. You were stood in what looked to be a living room. A red couch and a couple chairs made a circle in the middle of the room, and in the corner of the room stood a half-filled bookshelf, looking almost lonely.

Wandering over to the bookshelf, you picked up the first book you saw and flipped through it.

_How could you forget? They didn’t write in English here. Looks like no boredom curers for Y/n. Speaking of that, they’re definitely speaking English, so why aren’t they writing in it too?_

You slumped down on the nearest couch, staring off into space.

_This had been a fucking insane day, you could definitely say that._

Your mind began to wonder to the people you were with. Petra, Oluo, Eld, Gunther… even Erwin, they would eventually all die. Did you like the sound of that? No… You cried when Erwin died at the end of the third season, and then cried again when you rewatched it with your friend. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t terrified right now. Not just of the constant socializing, or the personality of Levi Ackerman, but also where you were.

A world where you’re more likely to get eaten then get a proper education.

And your home… you thought back to it, frowning. In an attempt to bring yourself comfort, you wrapped your arms around yourself.

Your room that you worked so hard to decorate.

Your phone that could keep you occupied for hours.

Your friends…

And before you knew it, you were crying. Chest heaving, shoulders shaking.

_You needed to stop; you would get hell if Levi saw you._

But you couldn’t, you were frozen in your place on the couch, trying to sob as quietly as you could.

Your breakdown soon resulted in an uncontrollable hiccuping fit.

You brought your hands up to your now red face, drenched with salty tears. You quickly and erratically tried to wipe them off, but they kept sliding down your face.

After about ten more minutes of you being pathetic, you laid down, still hiccuping, as you closed your eyes. You didn’t think you’d ever fallen asleep faster in your life.

* * *

You awoke to the couch juddering. You turned your head to see Levi kick the couch as he walked past it.

“You could have just shook me awake, that would have worked.”

_God, this man wasn’t seem as cool now that you were with him._

He threw the broom he was holding at you without looking, hitting you in the face.

“Levi!” Petra said, incredulously.

“Had to be sure they were awake,” He shrugged.

“I’m awake! I’m awake!” you said, rubbing the tear stains from your eyes.

“All of you,” Levi swept his hand at the rest of his squad, which had gathered in front of him, “are on cleaning duty. That includes you,” he said, pointing at you.

You sighed but couldn’t help but smile. You had made it into the Survey Corps. Now all you had to do was fix everything… somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’re hoping to stick to an upload schedule in which we upload a chapter every sunday, but we both have school and I have adhd, so I don’t know how well that will go. please be patient with us :D


	3. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y/n is starting to get used to the life of a Survey Corps (well as much as they can), but damn is it hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! this is goby. apologizes this was uploaded so late in the day, i got really fucking sick and was throwing up all night (just the flu don't worry! i'm all better now.) but i didn't have to write much since bean worked mostly on this chapter! my bestie really fought her way through some writers block lol, hope you all enjoy! (and thank you so much for the support.)
> 
> edit: bean here! the formatting should be fixed, but feel free to inform us of any mistakes you see! thank you for your patience

Cleaning had never been an enjoyable task for you, but it was even worse when your thoughts wouldn’t stop whirling around in your head. You had decided to stick by Petra, as she seemed the safest option, and you took to following her around like a baby duckling. 

“Hey, are you ok?” Petra asked softly as soon as the others were out of earshot, “You looked upset earlier.” 

There wasn’t much you could say about what was actually bothering you, nor did you particularly want to, so you just nodded. Petra gave you an appraising look, no doubt noticing your swollen eyes and red nose. She didn’t push, resuming walking and gestured behind her for you to follow. 

“Well, we clean almost everyday, but there’s a new batch of recruits that should be coming in a few weeks or so, so the burden will be on their shoulders for the most part. Dinner is at 7:00 pm, breakfast at 5:00 am, and we don’t have a designated time for lunch. If you don’t make it in time, then you’re most likely going without food until the next meal, so don’t be late!” She warned. 

_Five am? That’s really early_ _. Well, technically_ _,_ _it’s only about an hour_ _earlier than you get up for school_ _,_ _but it’s the principle of the matt_ _er._ _Wait, they_ _don’t have alarm clocks here so how…?_

“How will I know when to get up?” You asked meekly. 

_“_ There’s always someone in the barracks who wakes everyone up, which is usually me. Your body will get used to it eventually anyway.” 

_Well, that’s a relief._

“If you have any questions you can ask pretty much anyone!” She said brightly, “Well, you probably wouldn’t want to ask Commander Erwin, as that’s obviously not his job. And you probably wouldn’t want to ask Levi either, although he would answer.” 

She thought for a second, “Yeah, on second thought, you should probably just stick to asking us.” 

Cleaning went by quickly, with Petra going easy on you whenever Levi wasn’t in the room, and before you knew it, Petra was herding you and her squad members into the dining hall. 

Looking around the room, you estimated there were about 100 people as of now. They were seated seemingly randomly, spread across the 30 tables in the room, all of them chatting amicably. At the front of the room was Hange, sitting alone at the table you guessed was for the higher ups. Hange jumped up from their seat when they saw you, waving their hands violently to capture your attention. 

“Hey! Y/n! Over here!” Hange yelled, drawing the attention of the majority of the soldiers in the room toward you. You shrunk back behind Petra, feeling the weight of their eyes on you. Hange made an ‘o’ with their mouth when they saw you cowering and laughed sheepishly, turning to the soldiers in front of them. 

“Sorry, everyone! Go back to your meals, guys,” Hange commanded. The soldiers resumed talking, obviously used to their antics. Every once and a while, one would send a curious look your way, though that was the extent of their interest. 

Petra dragged you over to the table, everyone else following behind obediently. Hange had sat back down by the time you reached them and you stood awkwardly while everyone else sat down. 

_They probably all have specific seats,_ _how are you supposed to know which ones aren’t taken? Should you just pick a random seat_ _and sit in it?_

Hange patted the seat next to them, “You should sit next to me!” Sighing in relief, you take the seat next to them. 

“Hey, where’s Captain Levi?” Petra asked. Hange snorted. 

“Probably with the Commander. Other than that, I don’t think you want to know.” 

Petra leaned forward excitedly. 

“No, we do. We actually have a running bet on them,” 

“You do? Wow, that’s great!” Hange said excitedly. They paused for a second, “And also probably a form of insubordination.” 

Petra shrugged, “Yeah, probably.” 

“That’s beside the point, who’s betting what?” Hange asked. 

“Ok, so, I’m betting that they’re already in a relationship, Eld thinks they’re in the negotiation stage, and Oluo thinks they don’t like each other like that.” Petra rolled her eyes. 

“I just can’t see it happening!” Oluo defended. 

“What about Gunther?” You asked. 

“Gunther’s too scared of getting caught,” Petra sighed. Hange was smiling maniacally, clapping their hands together. 

“I could confirm or deny your claims-“ Hange started 

Petra’s eyes widened. 

“But that would be less fun,” They finished. 

“Damn it,” Petra sighed. 

“I can’t wait to see the look on their faces when I tell them about this,” Hange giggled, clearly picturing it, although you didn’t understand why a furious Levi would be something you would want to cause, much less laugh about. “But not now, Petra, don’t give me that look.” 

Petra gasped, 

“Y/n, sorry, we were leaving you out of—" 

“Can I place a bet?” You asked. 

Petra blanched. 

“Uh, I don’t think minors can legally bet. Plus, you’d need money.” 

You sighed, “Fine. Although isn’t this illegal already?” 

“Eh, yeah.” 

“God, you suck at this. Get back up, we’re going again.” 

Your breathing was labored and you were covered in sweat. You got back up, going back into something that vaguely resembled a fighting stance. Levi stared at you, incredulously. He kicked out his leg, sweeping your legs out from under you. You fall on your ass for what must’ve been the 100th time that day. 

“We went over a basic fighting stance for all of yesterday, and you still can’t get it?” Levi pinched the bridge of his nose. “Erwin could have chosen literally anyone else, my talents are wasted in this fucking regiment. You look like a baby deer who got all four of their legs broken. This is the most basic fighting stance there is, if you can’t get this, I don’t know what to tell you. If we were in the underground, you’d be dead twelve times over by now.” 

Erwin and Hange were standing silently off to the side. 

“But you’re not in the underground anymore. Our tall, handsome, and _very capable_ _,_ ” Hange singsonged, batting their eyelashes, “Commander blackmailed you into leaving, remember?” 

“Hange!” Erwin said sharply. 

“What? They probably already know anyway.” 

_Well technically, you never watched the OVA_ _, and you didn’t read the manga, but you did already know about_ _it._

Levi walked over to Hange calmly before crouching down, sweeping his leg into theirs, sending them crashing to the ground. Hange giggled from where they were now sat on the ground. 

“You know,” They started, looking up at Erwin, “You really do have great eyebrows.” 

You were still sat in the dust of the training area watching the spectacle, relieved you were finally getting a break. You dug your arm into your side, attempting to relieve the cramp that had developed there. 

Just as you thought you were free, Levi turned around. Brushing his uniform off, he walked back towards you. 

“Come on, get up,” He nudged you with his foot, “I’m not going to let you go until you either get this or you die.” 

You really wanted to let out a groan, but you held it back. You couldn’t have Levi be any angrier than he already was. 

You stood up, stretching out your back before going back to the same fighting stance. 

Levi jumped towards you, this time you scrambled away, just in time. You celebrated your small victory in your head before Levi roundhouse kicked you in the chest, sending you flying. 

“You have to at least try.” He spoke. 

_He’s a_ _n_ _Ackerman_ _,_ _this i_ _s hardly fair_ _._

“Get up, we’re going again.” 

“They could always join the science division,” Hange yelled out. 

“The science division doesn’t exist, Hange, It’s just you and Moblit.” Levi huffed, irritated, “And you guys still go on missions anyway, so they would still need to train.” 

“Well, it was worth a try.”   


“Did you not hear me? Get up. Just because you know most of my childhood trauma doesn’t mean you can slack off like this. I’m still your superior.” Levi spoke, turning back to you. 

You fight back a groan before getting up. _This bitch._ You could feel your legs shaking underneath you. Stood in the strongest stance that you could muster, you took a swing at Levi. Who… Obviously dodged. 

Faster than you could blink, he was pouncing at you, and then you were flipped over his shoulder, and onto your back. 

_“Fuck.”_ Was all you could say as you felt your breath get knocked out of you, ribs rattling. You could hear Hange’s sharp inhale from the corner of the room. 

“And you’re dead again. Fuck, this is too easy.” 

“Anyone’s easy to beat for you, Levi.” You slightly snarled, eyes shut tightly from your pain. 

“I didn’t know you actually could say anything even mildly confrontational,” Levi spoke, “And I think it’s the other way around. ‘Any fight’s easy to win when it’s against you.'" You opened one of your eyes to see him squattingnext to you. 

You let out an annoyed groan, not really caring whether you sounded disrespectful. 

“Watch it,” He said sharply, “Life might be all fun and games where you were from, but this is life or death. Don’t disrespect people who can kill you. I’m fucking leaving, I’m covered in dirt.” He quickly stalked away, toward the command barracks, not the showers, as you would’ve expected. 

Using your sore arms, you hoisted yourself up, muttering insults to the Captain under your breath. 

“You can go now,” Hange yelled over their shoulder, as they followed Levi and Erwin, who had gone after him a few seconds earlier. 

“Oh my--What did the Captain do to you…” Petra spoke, looking at your sweating heap of a body on the floor. 

“Torture. God, that was worse than seventh grade.” 

“Seventh grade…?” Petra asked, handing you water. 

“Don’t worry about it.” You said, taking the water from her and chugging it down. 

“Looks like someone’s going to need a shower.” Petra giggles, swiping your dripping hair from your face. 

“Yeah.” 

Showering was one of your least favorite parts of this world so far. Well, apart from the cannibalistic giants and the corrupt government, obviously. Showers in the Survey Corps, like in most military bases, were communal and allowed for zero privacy. Not only that, but warm water was not a common occurrence (the Survey Corps was grossly underfunded and money couldn’t be wasted on such trivial things), so you had to resign yourself to a cold spray that did nothing to soothe your sore muscles, but at least it got you clean. 

You showered as quickly as you could, grateful that there weren’t many people there, and dashed for the barracks before the curfew bell was struck. You had been living here for a week and a half now and, while you hadn’t quite gotten used to it yet, it was definitely much easier than it had been when you first arrived. You stuck to the Levi Squad for the most part and, aside from that, tried your best to stay out of everyone’s way. 

“Damn, just in time, Y/n!” Petra applauded as you dove into the room just as the curfew bell was sounded. “How do you always manage to be just barely on time to everything?” She asked, amused. You shrugged sheepishly and trudged to the bunk that you shared with Petra (she had kicked Oluo out of the top bunk to make room for you), shivering from the shower and muscles trembling from training. 

“How did training go, kid?” Gunther asked from where he was sitting cross-legged on his bunk. 

“Oh yeah! You started one-on-one training with Levi yesterday, I forgot,” Eld said, laughing. You shrugged again, not really up for talking and extremely exhausted. 

“Don’t worry about Levi, he’s like that to everyone, it says nothing about your actually abilities,” Petra chimed in. 

“I think it applies in my case,” You grumbled, climbing up the ladder to your bed. 

“Don’t be like that, Y/n. While you might not be… the best at fighting--” Petra hastily corrected herself, “Yet! Not the best yet. The Captain will make sure you learn what you need to know. After all, we all start somewhere!” 

You appreciated the effort, albeit a not very effective effort, but an effort all the same. 

“Thanks guys,” You said, lying back on your bed, staring at the ceiling. 

Gradually, everyone else started getting in their beds, except Petra, who got up to flick off the lights. The room was swallowed by darkness, leaving you with only your thoughts and the sounds of gentle breathing to accompany you. 

You had never liked the quiet. Things being completely silent had always freaked you out, and now was no different. This unsettled feeling was reflected by your thoughts. 

_You’re not sure of the exact timeline, but the 10_ _4_ _th_ _Corps_ _trainees should be graduating soon._ _Which means the_ _Trost_ _arc_ _will be starting soon. Which_ _means_ _the plot_ _will be in full swing_ _. Which means you need to be able to be on the field_ _. God, how are you going to be prepared in time?_ _You aren’t ready for this._

After a long time of staring through the darkness at the ceiling, you drifted into an uneasy sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some cannon shit coming out soon y'all! ;)


End file.
